ReConstruct

ReConstruct aims to develop alternative, more sustainable, structural insulation panels, to replace current wood and polystyrene sandwich solutions that are widely used in the construction industry. ReConstruct envisions the development of versatile product for use as exterior walls in prefabricated homes with increased thermal insulation and as interior partitions with emphasis in higher acoustic absorption efficiency. The proposed solutions align with the thematic priority sector of Green Transition and Energy Efficiency as they make use of recycled waste materials, with a particular direction towards the construction industry where Cyprus has been thriving over the recent years.

The proposed work will achieve this through the following general objectives (GOs):

GO I. Establish a long-term collaboration that will span beyond this project, between the industrial and academic partners to combine access in bespoke equipment, involvement of highly specialized personnel, academic and industrial competencies, and expertise to eventually accelerate the development and commercialization of technologies and products, currently in R&D stage, for the construction industry.

GO II. Develop a sustainable by design product to serve the needs of the highly valued Cypriot construction industry, considering sourcing of raw materials, processing, and recyclability and adopt circular economy practices within the standard operating procedures of the industrial partners.

GO III. Investigate the methods for producing structural insulation panels at large scale and implement the necessary quality control measures and standards to reach product and processing development at TRL 7 by the end of the project.

AmaDema has the know-how to develop, process and scale-up new composite materials in various forms and quantities. In ReConstruct, AmaDema will focus on material processes such as (i) seaweed cleaning and preparation, (ii) seaweed processing into boards, (iii) recycled textiles processing into cores for SIPs, (iv) production of sound insulative nanofabrics, and (v) development of the integration process of the above constituents into SIP sandwich panels for construction industry.

Specifically, for process (iii), AmaDema is collaborating with UNRF, which will provide expertise and know-how for recycled clothing textiles processing, an established process with increased TRL. Further processing of the recycled textiles into the form of cores for SIP sandwich panels will be performed with the support of UNRF.

Toward the development of novel SIP sandwich panels, AmaDema collaborates with NKMC, an established company in commercialization of standard SIPs within the Cyprus construction industry. NKMC has a specific interest in the eco-friendly materials developed by AmaDema and will significantly contribute to the validation and demonstration of the new SIP panel system in operational environment in terms of production, testing, and certification.

To facilitate minimized carbon footprint in terms of manufacturing and life cycle as well as to optimize the eco-friendly materials utilization within the SIP sandwich panel systems for maximum performance in terms of thermal and sound insulation, AmaDema further collaborates with UCY, which has a deep knowledge of Posidonia Oceanica seaweeds in terms of cleaning and processing as well as in terms of numerical modelling. This knowledge is necessary to co-develop within ReConstruct, the eco-friendly SIP sandwich panels as a sustainable-by-design product, which can initially be commercialized in the Cyprus construction market